1. Pulp's new album, their
seventh, hits the shops today. The Guardian's Alexis Petridis gives it
the thumbs up: "We Love Life effortlessly pulls off a series of difficult balancing acts. It is intelligent without being deliberately obscure, grown-up but not pompous, darkly powerful but never overpowering."

2. It was produced by reclusive 1960s heart-throb Scott Walker. Not that Pulp are spring chickens themselves - the band have been around for more than 20 years.

3. They formed - as Arabacus Pulp - in the late 1970s. After years languishing in obscurity (well, Sheffield mostly), the early 1990s and the arrival of Britpop saw the band find success with the album His 'n' Hers.

4. Front man Jarvis Cocker's geek style and stick-insect looks have made him one of pop's most unlikely sex symbols and fashion icons. Italian designers Gucci once asked Jarvis to model their new range, but had to abandon plans when they couldn't find anything to fit his lanky frame.

6. The band got on the wrong side of the tabloids with their anthemic Sorted for E's And Wizz. The CD cover contained instructions on how to make a wrap to conceal speed. "Ban this sick stunt," thundered the Daily Mirror. A fansite reports that Jarvis apparently misread the last word of the headline and took the attack much more personally. The single reached number two.

7. There's more to Pulp than their notorious front man. The line-up has changed little over the band's history. Between them, the group have written some of pop music's best lyrics, the meaning of which are studied and debated by hardcore fans. "The things in my songs are the edited highlights of my life. I don't go seeking out strange sexual experiences every day of the week," says Jarvis.